Hits and misses

September 15, 1997|By Roch Kubatko

On the field: Yankees starter Dwight Gooden needed 33 pitches to get through the first inning. He allowed one-out singles to Roberto Alomar and B. J. Surhoff and two-out walks to Rafael Palmeiro and Cal Ripken on full counts that produced a 1-0 lead. Gooden ran the count full again to Harold Baines before getting a called third strike to end the inning.

In the dugout: Eric Davis stepped out of it to acknowledge a standing ovation before the bottom of the fourth inning, as fans reacted to a message on the scoreboard that the outfielder was being activated today and would play. As the applause built, Davis tipped his cap and made a "raise the roof" gesture.

In the clubhouse: Davis confirmed before a pre-game news conference that he would be playing today, but didn't want to say in what capacity. "I don't want to let the cat out of the bag. It'll be roaming all over the city, and we don't need that right now."